The parents of a motorcyclist killed in a crash with a Tesla have sued the company, claiming Autopilot is “defective and inadequate.”
According to Reuters, Landon Embry was killed in an accident in 2022 when a Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot struck his motorcycle from behind at 75-80 mph. The lawsuit says the Tesla driver was “tired” and “not in a condition to drive as an ordinarily prudent driver.”
“A reasonably prudent driver, or adequate auto braking system, would have, and could have slowed or stopped without colliding with the motorcycle,” reads the complaint.
The plaintiffs allege that Tesla’s sensors and cameras “should have identified the hazard posed by Decedent’s motorcycle in its presence.”
The lawsuit is the latest issue facing Tesla over its self-driving technology. The company has struggled to deliver on CEO Elon Musk’s promises of true self-driving technology, with California even ruling the company cannot use “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) in its marketing, since the technology does not live up to the name.
Below is an excerpt from the legislation banning Tesla’s use of the “Full Self-Driving” term:
A manufacturer or dealer shall not name any partial driving automation feature, or describe any partial driving automation feature in marketing materials, using language that implies or would otherwise lead a reasonable person to believe, that the feature allows the vehicle to function as an autonomous vehicle, as defined in Section 38750, or otherwise has functionality not actually included in the feature. A violation of this subdivision shall be considered a misleading advertisement for the purposes of Section 11713.
Tesla’s issues also demonstrate the larger issue manufacturers are facing in the push for autonomous vehicles. GM’s Cruise division recently announced it would discontinue use of its Origin vehicle—a true driverless vehicle lacking any traditional controls—in favor of the Chevy Bolt. The announcement came after an incident in which a Cruise taxi ran over and drug a pedestrian that had already been hit by another driver.
While auto manufacturers continually point to driverless technology as the future—one that promises to be safer than human drivers—the reality continues to be plagued by tragedies like the one that befell Landon Embry.